AlliancesCigna Group Insurance, Philadelphia, a division of Cigna Corp., and financial services portal Answer Financial Inc., Los Angeles, will offer a 24-hour insurance and financial services supermarket to employees at companies nationwide. Cigna Group will offer its employee-paid life, accident and disability products. Answer Financial will provide access to nontraditional products and services that CIGNA Group does not offer. These include long-term care insurance, insurance for home, auto and pets, online banking and legal services.
FirePond Inc., Waltham, Mass., and InSystems Technologies Inc., Toronto, will develop a comprehensive e-business platform that enables insurers and financial services companies to integrate sales, fulfillment and customer service. The combined solution will enable companies to deliver applications for multi-channel interactive selling that are tightly integrated to enterprise document management and compliance processes. FirePond provides integrated e-business solutions for multi-channel selling. InSystems provides solutions for fulfillment and customer service.
The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., Hartford, Conn., and information management firm Ingenix Inc., New Haven, Conn., will create an information system that tracks and integrates, medical, disability, Family Medical Leave Act, workers' compensation and other health and productivity data. The Hartford provides group disability and integrated benefits through its Hartford Life subsidiary. With a personal computer and Ingenix's Internet-based system, The Hartford's group disability customers will be able to collect and consolidate all of their health and absence information in to a single, integrated database. Combined with Ingenix's decision-making support software, customers can get integrated benefit data or information management, analytic reporting and expert consultation.
Tower Technology, Boston, and Staffware plc, Maidenhead, United Kingdom, have developed a Web-based application for insurers that enables policyholders and brokers to start, view and process claims via the Internet. With eClaims Policyholder, consumers can complete an online claims form using their Web browser, which is automatically routed to their broker via the Internet. This initiates the claims process automatically. Both parties can view the relevant documentation directly on their computer screen, including photos, forms and transcripts. eClaims Policyholder can be used on any platform and any browser.
Insurance broker Kaye Group Inc., New York, and business-to-business e-commerce site b2bstores.com, Long Beach, Calif., will co-develop and power an exclusive, private-label, online business insurance center for b2bstores.com members. The commercial insurance center, located at www.KinsuranceCenter.com, will enable b2bstores.com members to access information about insurance for business owners. Members can learn about their critical risk exposures, select the types and amounts of insurance they need and apply for coverage online.
American International Group Inc., New York, will offer workers compensation and professional liability insurance quotes for small business owners at www.pivot.com, the Web site of online insurance aggregator Pivot, Columbus, Ohio. Pivot is a subsidiary of ilife.com, North Palm Beach, Fla., which operates financial Web sites.
Insurance Services Office Inc., New York, has acquired IMR Corp., a provider of marketing information consulting and strategic analyses to insurance companies, risk managers, brokers and large insurance agents. IMR provides customers with products and services to better analyze risks in potential new markets or new lines of business and may also be used to evaluate or benchmark insurers' current books of business. The company's core products include the Market Profiler, which provides historical and projected premium and loss statistics across 11 lines of insurance. The company also provides market-sensitive information from government and private industry sources and models for estimating the performance of more than 900 industries by geography and Standard Industrial Classification codes.
Products
Travelers Property Casualty Corp., Hartford, Conn., has developed a new integrated small-business system for its independent agents. Major components of the system include real-time quoting, public Web access and a service center. According to Travelers, the development of real-time quoting capability directly from agency management systems enables single entry, multiple-company interface, or SEMCI. The technology will be available to agents who use Applied System's WARP-enabled WinTam software beginning in the third quarter of this year starting with Travelers' MasterPac business owners policy.
Zurich U.S. Marine, a unit of Zurich U.S., Schaumburg, Ill., has established a new Web site to provide comprehensive marine insurance news and information and tools to streamline and expedite the placing of marine risks. The site contains up-to-date information on Zurich U.S. Marine offerings, including coverage for cargo, hull, liabilities and fine art. A cargo insurance application can be completed and submitted electronically. For applications submitted online, there is immediate confirmation and a one-business-day quote turnaround time. The site also offers access to information on marine risks and solutions. Users can access the site at Zurich U.S.'s corporate home page at www.zurichus.com.
Software developer Cover-All Technologies Inc., Fair Lawn, N.J. has introduced four new products for the property/casualty insurance market. The products, which are available independently or in combination as a fully integrated solution, include a customer relationship management system, a flexible billing system, an insurance enterprise Oracle database and an agent/broker relationship management system for insurance companies. Connecting the components, which are Web-enabled, can be accomplished by using XML technology, particularly ACORD XML standards.
New Era of Networks Inc., Denver, an e-business integration software provider, has released e-Biz 2000 for Insurance, which supports e-business initiatives for large and small insurance companies. The software is built on the company's e-business integration server and hosted on Windows NT or Windows 2000 platforms. It offers connectivity to any system, whether legacy or Windows-based and includes support for XML, EDI and ACORD AL3 standards. The cost of the software begins at $75,000.
The St. Paul Cos., St. Paul, Minn., has introduced SPCQuote, a Web-based tool that gives agents the ability to access current pricing information on more than 3,500 small commercial businesses, including retail establishments, manufacturers and contractors. SPCQuote enables agents to know that quotes reflect the most recent rates and rules for the state where business is being quoted. Agents log on to SPCQoute, enter customer account information and receive an instant quote on property, general liability, auto umbrella and inland marine coverages. Workers' compensation quoting is expected to be added later this year.
DWL Inc., New York, has come out with DWL Unifi Insurance, a suite of new personalized applications that will accelerate insurers time to market with transactional Web-enabled applications and real-time customer relationship management. The first solution, designed specifically for the property/casualty insurance industry, includes optional portal applications for agents and brokers, policyholders, prospects and customer service agents. It also gives insurance companies the ability to modify each application to match their specific business processes and reflect their corporate brand. Insurers can also receive, first notice of loss, policy inquiry, new business, client management, claims management, commission tracking, forms and marketing materials.
The National Council on Compensation Insurance, Boca Raton, Fla., has released an enhanced version of its RMAPS Online Application Service, designed to offer NCCI assigned risk workers' compensation insurance customers, time savings, greater efficiency and better customer service. The service enables customers to submit and process workers compensation assigned risk applications over the Internet. Customers access the RMAPS service through an Internet browser and store transactions and confirmations electronically on a hard drive or print them for a paper file. This eliminates telephone calls, postage and mailings and reduces the time for obtaining coverage for assigned risk clients from several days to a few minutes, the NCCI says.
MaxSol Inc., Concord, Mass., has launched eInsurePlus software that enables carriers, MGAs, brokers, aggregators, agencies and customers to access and exchange information directly. Four base modules, plus an optional eGroupHealth Plus module, comprise the eInsurePlus solution. The modules include eAccess Interchange, which links information from multiple agency systems and exchanges information in ACORD XML and ACORD AL3 formats with carrier systems. EQuotePlus enables online, real-time quoting, rating, submission, binding and issuing. eReportPlus provides online query and real-time reports and eSelfService Plus enables insurers to offer customers 24X7 access to policy, claims and billing status, along with quoting and online agency contact.
Risk Management Technologies Inc.,Tarrytown, N.Y., has launched The Surety Bond Technician Version 2.0, an in-house automated approval and submission system designed for commercial and contract surety bond producers and surety companies. The company specializes in automated computer solutions for the insurance and health care industries.
Scene Genesis Inc., Rochester, N.Y., has created a connection for sharing pictures and information among independent property/casualty insurance agents, insurers, adjusters, estimators and others involved in analyzing a claim scene and serving the property/casualty customer. Available on Scene Genesis' Web site, at sceneaccess.net, agents and others can place their digital pictures of claim scenes or inspections at the site and reach other involved parties within minutes.
Priority Data Systems Inc., Omaha, Neb., has launched PriorityRate.com, an Internet-based comparative rating system for auto and homeowners insurance. PriorityRate.com offers connectivity with desktop systems through Priority DataLink, which enables agents and insurers to exchange information. Agencies can move data files from their desktops, including quotes and applications, to and from Internet. Insurers can connect to PriorityRate.com to upload the stored information from the Internet to complete policy issuance as well as to handle company changes, endorsements and to send the information back to agencies. PriorityRate.com is currently available in 48 states.
NeuVis Inc., Shelton, Conn., a provider of engineered electronic business platforms, has launched NeuInsurance, an e-business framework for the insurance industry. The NeuInsurance Framework supports business-to-business, business-to-consumer and marketplace exchange solutions. Among the functions it supports are policy quoting, issuance, distribution, customer/partner service, claims, broking/underwriting and lifecycle marketing.
